TALIS: A powerful voice for educators in shaping reform

The importance of supporting teachers in schools – where relationships and interactions build, change, inspire and can derail activities on a daily basis – cannot be overestimated.

It is an undertaking that must be effective, evolve to suit needs, and sustained so that teachers can focus on guiding students in their learning and ensure progress.

The OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) which looks at the experiences of teachers and principals, is key in making that happen.

Since 2008, countries involved in TALIS have surveyed educators in secondary schools, with a lesser number opting to be involved in a primary school survey. A growing number of countries are now able to provide an evidence base to help focus and drive reform, with the ability to track its impact.

Comparative findings on job satisfaction, professional learning, leadership, relationships, classroom practices, working environments, and sources of stress are among those used powerfully in framing discussions on workforce sustainability and the quality of education in our schools.

Researchers rely on the rigour involved in TALIS to ensures accurate representation of the teacher workforce. As a 2024 research article on teacher professional needs in Australia, England, Japan and the Netherlands, published in the international journal Teaching and Teacher Education, noted ‘by using TALIS data, the study benefits from its strengths’. 

Academic institutions and research bodies have also used the many actionable insights from TALIS to develop effective teacher and leadership strategies.

Using TALIS data for change

Australia has taken part in all 4 cycles of TALIS, with the Australian Government commissioning the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to facilitate the survey and to analyse and report the results.

Conducted every 5-6 years, this reporting has informed Australian governments considering responses to specific challenges – most recently including the global challenges of teacher shortages, and retaining and sustaining a quality teacher workforce.

Recently in Australia, TALIS data has informed submissions to government inquiries into children and young people with special needs in educational settings, a state education system, and the Better and Fairer Schools (Funding and Reform) Bill.

It has also been used by a Senate Education and Employment References Committee examining the issue of increasing disruption in Australian classrooms.

What you can expect from TALIS 2024

In 2024, TALIS included a total of 55 OECD countries, partner countries and economies. Sampling within Australia to provide representative data saw around 6000 teachers and 360 principals take part.

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), which manages TALIS in Australia on behalf of the Australian Government, has now released findings from the 2024 survey, providing comparisons with the OECD average and 5 countries that performed at a higher level than Australia in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The report gives an overview of how Australia’s teaching profession is responding to current challenges and builds on the evidence base to strengthen teacher wellbeing, development and learning outcomes.

It provides a picture of what motivates and drives educators and how the joy of teaching impacts different areas of decision making. 

Actionable insights

Critically, the report also highlights opportunities, identifying points for interventions and therefore where those interventions are likely to be most effective.

For example, the report notes that mentoring and being mentored are linked to higher job satisfaction across education systems, and that teachers with strong belief in their skills report higher wellbeing, and lower stress.

Along with findings on where teachers want more professional learning and the barriers to undertaking it, this is valuable information for those designing and improving systems to prepare teachers and support growth in their skills across their careers.

New information on AI

TALIS 2024 also had a new focus on AI to assist education policymakers as they develop, release and update policies in this fast-moving area.

ACER’s report provides a rare overview of how teachers are using AI in education and how they feel about its place in teaching and learning.

Not only does it show that Australia’s lower secondary teachers used AI at a level that was one of the highest among TALIS countries, it shows they were thoughtful about how they used it.

TALIS also reports a level of concern about the benefits of AI in certain areas, and, notably, some teachers shared their belief that AI had no place in teaching at all.

Read the full report for insights across the lifespan of educator careers – from motivation to career intentions on leaving the profession.